Southern Alberta racetrack nears completion, will open in 2022
For years, Calgary's Race City Speedway was where the sound of powerful engines could be heard speeding down the track, until the facility closed in October 2011.
Now, Rocky Mountain Motorsports (RMM) near Carstairs, Alta. is set to be the new destination for racers and their fans.
The track is located just east of the Carstairs overpass on the Queen Elizabeth II highway, about an hour's drive from downtown Calgary.
Dominic Young is the president of RMM and says last fall a team of construction workers mapped out the world-class 3.5 Kilometre track with 16 turns and 36 metres of elevation change.
Rocky Mountain Motorsports hosted a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 to show off its newly paved track near Carstairs, Alta.
This year, the team has paved the track and is working on landscaping the facility. It has taken six years and $35 million to get to this point.
"It's turning out probably better than we could have expected honestly," said Young. "In terms of the finished product, it's a beautiful track and it's challenging."
Young says the track is not ready for racing just yet because all the safety barriers have to be installed around the circuit.
"The tire barriers and concrete barriers; there's actually 14,000 tires, going into our tire barriers," said Young. "Which Continental Tire has been kind enough to provide as part of their sponsorship agreement with us."
Shadi El Hage is the track's operation manager and says the facility will be open to everyone from professional drivers to beginners starting next spring.
"Our membership is extremely broad," said El Hage. "We have everybody from (drivers) that have raced all around the world, to people that have never been on the track, so the skill level variance is high."
Rocky Mountain Motorsports hosted a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 to show off its newly paved track near Carstairs, Alta.
RMM will be hosting a racing school called Turn 17 Garage with small imported Rush SR race cars.
"Motorcycle base 1000cc, only about 145 horsepower," said Dana Krause, one of the tracks founders.
"But good for 225 kilometres (140 miles) an hour easily, and they get there very quickly, but they're extremely solid and handled very well."
RMM will also be home to car clubs and host track days, dealership test drives and a number of motorsport-related events.
It's currently in the midst of having long-term discussions with the Calgary Police Service on establishing a new officer driver training academy that will meet the current and future needs of the force.
Doug Hall purchased a membership and will bring his high performance cars to the track. He's raced on circuits all over the world and likes what he's seeing closer to home.
"One of the most fun things about driving on the track is elevation change," said Hall. "Where you're going up and down like a roller coaster ride and they took this flat, bald prairie here and they put all kinds of that in so this, it compares extremely favorably with any of the other tracks I've ever been to."
The track is set to open in spring of 2022.
For more information you can visit RockyMotorsports.com.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.